Building set



April 17, 1934. J M LEAKE 1,955,194

BUILDING SET Filed Sept. 20, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l 33,13 @mw/m35 J. M.LEAKE April 17, 1934.

BUILDING SET Filed Sept. 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 17, 1934. J, M,LEAKE 1,955,194

BUILDING SET Filed Sept. 20. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 `of angle bars.

Patented pr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a building sei'l designed primarily for theentertainment and instruction of children, although it embodies somenovel features which may be used in standard building construction.

One object of theinvention is to provide a building set having piecesadapted to be associated in such a manner that various attachments maybe secured thereto to produce buildings of various styles.

The novel features embodied in the invention include a sloping roofhinged at the top and having the side of the building hinged thereto anddepending beneath the eaves, a Dutch colonial roof attachment, a noveldoor and window frame construction, a novel hinge construction inconnection with the door and Window frames, a onepiece porch, andvarious interchangeable features as hereinafter described.

The invention, in its preferred form, will be more specically explainedin connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of one of the buildings embodying theinvention, a part of the roof and front side of the building being shownin raised position;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of a part of one of the partitions;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of a part of one of the floors;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the: porch or entry;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the front step;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the chimneys;

Fig. 7 is an isometric view of a bungalow which may be constructedaccording to the invention;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of one of the windows;

Fig. 9 is a detail View of the outside window' frame;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a detail view of one of the interior attachments;

Fig. 12 is a detail View of one of the attach- -.ments which may be usedinterchangeably with that shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a detail view of a window equipped with an awning in place ofthe shutters;

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is an isometric view of a garage whichA may be constructedaccording to the invention.

All of the various pieces of the set are adapted to be made from sheetmetal. The set includes corner posts 1 and girders 2, made in the formThese pieces, as well as other pieces of the set, may be secured inassembled relation by screw bolts 3 or other suitable fasteningelements. Partitions, stairways and other interior attachments may beprovided and provision may be made for securing them in positionaccording to the plan of the building to be erected. Fig. l represents atwo-story house having a center hall plan, as indicated by thepartitions 4.

Instead oi providing all oi the girders as separate angle bars, the oors5 may be provided with integral flanges 6, as illustrated in Fig. 3,thereby reducing the number oi" separate pieces in the set. Some or allof the partitions 4 may be provided with similar flanges 6 for the samepurpose. Strips 'l are adapted to be secured to the lower ends of thecorner posts 10 and are formed and painted to represent a brickfoundation.

The ends 8 of the building are adapted to be secured directly to thecorner posts 1, while the iront and rear sides 9 are secured to cornerstrips 10, which are hinged at 11 to the lower ends of the gable roofstrips 12. The roof pieces 13 are secured to the upper faces of thestrips 12, and the latter are provided at their upper ends withears 14to form hinges, so that the front or rear side of the building, togetherwith the adjacent side of the roof may be raised as shown in the upperpart of Fig. 1 to provide free access to the interior of the buildingfor the purpose of arranging the fixtures or furniture therein.

It is preferred to provide a chimney 15 at each end of the building, andthe same screw bolts which secure the chimney to the end of the buildingmay also be used to secure the latter to the floor flanges or girders.The upper ends of the chimneys l5 are also useful in providing supportsfor the hinges 14. The iront entrance or porch 16 may be formed from onepiece of sheet metal and provided With a roof 17 and front step 18. Theporch is secured by the same screw bolts which secure the front doorframe to the front side 9.

Each door and window frame 18, as illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10,consists of inside and outside rectangular strips which are secured byscrew bolts passing through the siding. The outside strip is providedwith struck out lips 20 and the inside strip is provided with struck outlips 21, which are inserted through the holes left by the lips 20 sothat each pair of lips 20 and 21 meet to form a hinge eye 22 forsupporting a shutter or door 23. In assembling a window roo frame,therefore, the shutter is rst mounted on the lips 20 and then the lips21 are inserted to complete the hinge.

Each corner board 10 on the front and rear sides of the building isslightly bent at its lower end to form a spring clip 24. which engages aknob on the corner of the building to retain the side in closedposition.

The members 8 and 9 constitute the ends and sides of a plain two-storyhouse with a gable roof 13. This may be easily converted into a Dutchcolonial style by the addition of a roof strip 25 which is provided withend strips 26 adapted to be secured to the roof strips 12, as shown inFig. 1.

The interior of the building may be provided with a great variety ofdifferently arranged partitions, and the corners may be provided withvarious interchangeable attachments, as for example, a wash basin 27, afireplace 28, andthe like.

' The windows may be provided with awnings 29 instead of the shutters23. Each awning may be conveniently provided with pins 30 adapted to beinserted in the hinge eyes 22, as illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14.

The bungalow illustrated in Fig. 7 is constructed in the same manner asthe house illustrated in Fig. 1 and largely from the same pieces. Thechimney 15e, however, is shorter than the chimney 15, and the ends 8ELand sides 9EL are correspondingly of less height than the correspondingparts in the two-story building.

The garage illustrated in Fig. l5 is constructed in the same manner asthe other buildings except that the chimney is omitted, and the frontside 9b is provided with garage door frames 19b instead of frames 19.

While I have shown and described the more important features of theinvention, it will be understood that these may be variously modifiedand numerous other attachments and accessories, interchangeable orotherwise, may be provided Without departing from the scope of theinvention as claimed.

What I claim isz- 1. A building set comprising a piece constituting aside of the building and having an opening therein, a frame for saidopening including inside and outside pieces with lips struck outtherefrom and cooperating to form a hinge eye when the inside andoutside frame pieces are assembled.

2. A building set comprising a piece constituting a side of the buildingand having an opening therein, a frame for said opening including insideand outside pieces with lips struck out therefrom, the lip on one framepiece, when the pieces are assembled, extending through the hole left bythe lip on the other piece and meeting said last mentioned lip to form ahinge eye.

3. A building set comprising a piece constituting a side of the buildingand having an opening therein, a frame for said opening including insideand outside pieces with lips struck out therefrom and cooperating toform eyes when the outside and inside frame pieces are assembled, and anawning having pins secured thereto and insertable in said eyes tosupport the awning.

4. A building set comprising a piece constituting a side of the buildingand having an opening therein, a frame for said opening including insideand outside pieces with lips struck out therefrom, the lips on one framepiece, when the pieces are assembled, extending through the respectiveholes left by the lips on the other piece and meeting the same to formeyes, and an awning having pins secured thereto and insertable in therespective eyes to support the awning.

5. In a building set, the combination of two members each having anopening therein, means for securing said members with said openings inregistry, means integral with the respective members and cooperating toform a hinge eye when said members are so secured, and a membercooperating With said eye to constitute a closure for said openings.

6. A building set comprising pieces for forming the framework, sides,ends and gable roof of a two-story building, means for connecting saidpieces to form a building of conventional type, and an attachmentcomprising a one-piece roof member attachable to said gable roof toconvert the btuilding into one conforming to Dutch colonial s y e.

'l'. A building set comprising pieces constituting the sides and ends ofa two-story building and a gable roof therefor with overhanging ends,means for detachably connecting said pieces to form saidrbuilding, andan attachment comprising a single unit in the form of a roof stripadapted to extend from end to end of the building beneath the upperwindows of one side, with legs eX- tending from the ends of the strip tointermediate points of said overhanging ends of the gable roof anddetachably secured thereto to simulate the Dutch colonial style.

8. A building set comprising pieces for forming the framework, sides andends of a building, means for securing said pieces rigidly inasserzibled relation, two chimneys adapted to be attached to oppositeends of the building, hinge pins secured to the inner opposed faces ofthe respective chimneys at the ridge pole of the building, and a gableroof comprising two opposite slopes with upwardly pro'ecting earspivotally mounted on said pins. JAMES M. LEAKE.

